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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25864645">Hostage</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/navywife97/pseuds/navywife97'>navywife97</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>The Rookie (TV 2018)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Angst with a Happy Ending, Crimes &amp; Criminals, Drama &amp; Romance, F/M, Hostage Situations, Male-Female Friendship, Matter of Life and Death, Missing Persons, Mystery, Rescue, True Love</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-08-12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-08-15</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-05 07:41:59</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>6</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>15,883</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25864645</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/navywife97/pseuds/navywife97</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Officer Lucy Chen gets a new partner, Officer Grayson Wells, who's a rookie to the LAPD, but not a rookie to law enforcement. At first, Officer Tim Bradford is not pleased at all with the switch up in partnerships, but Grayson proves he's a great cop, and a great partner when the chips are down. When Lucy and Grayson accidentally discover the hideout for a gang of wanted bank robbers known as The Presidents, they are forced to depend solely on each other for survival.  Tim discovers that Lucy and Grayson have gone missing while on shift, and it's a race against time as the LAPD rushes to find their missing officers, before it's too late.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Tim Bradford/Lucy Chen</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>25</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>42</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Changes</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Lucy gets a new partner, Officer Grayson Wells, who has a past that he'd rather forget. Tim is not thrilled, at all, with her new partner, until he realizes two things: Grayson has no romantic interest in Lucy, and, Grayson seems as protective of Lucy as Tim is.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Sgt. Grey strolled into the roll call room. Today was going to be fun...for him at least. He was anticipating a host of different reactions of what he planned to do, everything from elation to fury. That was ok with him...he liked rocking his officers’ worlds at times. And he’d noticed that their worlds definitely needed to be rocked; some more than others. He smiled to himself, today was definitely going to be a great day...and tonight was going to be even better, because he had a hot date with his girlfriend, Special Agent Monica Reynolds, at his place. No interruptions, no major cases to clear, as Monica was on vacation from work and had selected to do a staycation, meaning she was available for breakfast dates, lunch dates, dinner dates, any kind of date you can think of. Sgt. Grey strolled to the podium and noted with amusement the many stares, mostly female stares, at the new guy sitting up front.</p><p>Officer Grayson Wells was sitting at the table with Nolan, West, and Chen in the roll call room. He wasn’t new to law enforcement, but he was new to the LAPD, and to Los Angeles. He had done a stint in the Coast Guard as a pararescue swimmer, but had decided he was tired of working in the water. So he then tried his hand at being a cop...and fucking loved it. But after what had happened to him while he was a cop in Chicago, he decided to trade in his ski boots and skis for flip flops and surf boards, and had moved to Los Angeles; in part to start fresh, and in part to forget.  He was the best rookie in his class at the academy, and had just finished his training with the LAPD. Unfortunately for him, the LAPD required going through the academy again, regardless of his previous law enforcement experience; but it wasn’t anything he couldn’t handle, and he had handled it better than the rest of his class.  Sgt. Grey had needed some new blood, so when he saw the request that Grayson had put in for first shift, he’d approved it. Officer Wells had been mostly silent, though he did respond to the questions that West had peppered him with in a friendly way, and he’d been friendly with Chen and Nolan. </p><p>Lopez was still on maternity leave, but was due back in a week. Harper was sitting next to Bradford. “Damn...who’s the hunk chatting up your girlfriend?” Bradford turned and glared at her. But before he could say anything, Sgt. Grey cleared his throat. “Good morning people. No big assignments today...just go out there and do your jobs...and speaking of your jobs…” Tim sighed. He hated it when Sgt. Grey did this...but, he wasn’t the boss, and he’d roll with whatever punches Sgt. Grey felt like throwing them today. Sgt. Grey looked around the room. “We’re going to shake things up a bit today. New riding assignments: Officer West, you’ll be riding with Detective Harper. Officer Nolan you’ll be riding with Officer Bradford until Officer Lopez returns, and then we’ll see. And Officer Chen, you get the guy next to you, and our new addition to Adam, Officer Grayson Wells. Officer Wells, stand up.” Officer Wells hid his eyeroll as he stood up...he hated being the new kid on the block, but he very much felt like one right now. Sgt. Grey introduced him to the roll call room. “This is Officer Grayson Wells. He comes to us from Chicago, and was on the force there. He just finished his training with the LAPD, and he’s been in L.A. about a year, so, when you get a chance, please welcome him to our neck of the woods.” Officer Wells smiled at everyone, and then quickly sat back down. Nyla glanced at Tim, and laughed. Tim was glaring at Sgt. Grey...and the new guy. Sgt. Grey nodded. “Ok, let’s get out there. Be safe. Dismissed.” Everyone stood up, and several of them came to shake Officer Wells’ hand and introduced themselves before leaving the roll call room. </p><p>West hurried over to Harper. He smiled. “Great to be working with you ma’am, I look forward to learning a lot from you.” Harper rolled her eyes. “You’re not a rookie anymore, West. Stop acting like you’re some Boot fresh out of the academy. The only things you need to learn are how I take my coffee, and where my favorite places are for lunch.” Harper then went up to the new guy and introduced herself. “Hi, I’m Detective Nyla Harper. Nice to meet you.” She had really been working on her people skills, thanks to her fiance, U.S. Navy SEAL Chief Jase Billings. Officer Wells smiled at her. “Nice to meet you too, Detective.” He noted her rank, and the fact that she was wearing a patrol uniform...and figured there was a story there. Wells, Harper, Chen, West, and Nolan were chatting before heading out. Sgt. Grey walked back to his office, smiling. He wondered how long it would take before Officer Tim Bradford was banging on his door.</p><p>It took about ten seconds. Sgt. Grey glanced up and barely controlled his laugh as he saw Tim glaring at him, and knock on his door. Sgt. Grey waved him in. Tim came in, and crossed his arms, staring at Sgt. Grey. Sgt. Grey looked back at him. “Something on your mind, Officer Bradford?” Tim sighed. “Sir, Lucy, er, I mean Officer Chen, is not a training officer. Hell, she’s barely been finished with her own training. Why did you assign her a rookie?” Sgt. Grey smiled at him...clever way of Bradford to disguise trying to find out why he and Lucy had been split up as partners. “Officer Wells is not a rookie. He served with Chicago for seven years. The only reason he had to go through training with us is because we require it from anyone and everyone, regardless of their prior experience. And Officer Chen is shall we say a bit more welcoming than you are. Besides, Lopez returns next week from maternity leave, and I want you with her as she gets back into the swing of things.” Tim just stared at his boss...who had obviously seen right through him. “Roger that, sir.” Sgt. Grey smiled as Tim left the office. </p><p>By lunchtime, Grayson and Lucy were like old friends. They had really hit it off, and Lucy was impressed with how he was as a cop. He reminded her a lot of Tim in his instincts, and his judgment, and his knowhow on the job. But unlike Tim, Grayson didn’t have the hard edge around him, and he was much more personable. In a different life, Grayson might have had a major shot with Lucy. But her heart and soul already belonged to her former T.O, Tim Bradford. The only thing about Grayson that had bugged Lucy was he was very closed off when talking about his past. Oh well...she’d get to the bottom of that mystery eventually.</p><p>Lucy looked at him. “So...what do you feel like for lunch? We could hit the food trucks, or a coffee shop, or even a restaurant if it’s not too crowded.” Grayson glanced at her and laughed. “We can go eat with your boyfriend, as long as he doesn’t kill me until after we’re off shift.” Lucy gasped in surprise as Grayson just grinned at her. He’d caught the death glares that Officer Bradford had shot his way...didn’t take him long to figure out why. Lucy shook her head and laughed. “He’s not that bad. He’s usually at the food trucks.” Grayson nodded. “That’s cool...I’ve never tried the food trucks before. Check one more thing off my list of stuff I want to try since coming to live here.” Lucy smiled at him and nodded and directed to him where the food trucks were usually parked.</p><p>John and Jackson looked around and were enormously relieved to see Lucy and Grayson walking towards them. They both looked at Tim, who had his back towards the food trucks. Tim had been in a foul mood all morning...and John was sick and tired of it. “There they are now.” Lucy was carrying a bowl of mexican street corn chowder, and Grayson was carrying a plate of beef tacos, and their drinks, to the table. Tim glanced up from his food and turned around and glared. He got up and stalked towards them. “Where the hell have you two been?” Lucy was taken aback by Tim’s rudeness...he was always abrupt with the new guys, but usually not this much so. Grayson sighed. “I’ll catch you later Lucy.” He wanted no part in any drama, and he’d had more than his share back in Chicago. He went off to a table by himself, and sat down and ate. Lucy scowled at Tim. “What the hell, Tim?” Tim was frowning at her and Lucy rolled her eyes. “Stop being such a brat. Grayson’s a great cop, and a great guy. And you’d find that out if you bothered to get to know him at all.” Lucy shook her head and walked away to sit down with Grayson. Tim might be her boyfriend, but Grayson was her partner, at least for now, and she wasn’t going to leave her partner completely alone on his first day on his new shift. She sat down at the table, as Grayson lifted his head in surprise. “Seriously? Are you trying to get him to kick my ass?” Lucy rolled her eyes. “Forget him, he’s just over protective.” Lucy was about to set her bowl of chowder down when she glanced up and gasped. She dropped her bowl, which Grayson managed to catch before it spilled all over the table. He frowned at Lucy as she sat down at the table, several shades paler than she’d been a few minutes ago. “Chen?” Grayson glanced around and saw Tim staring at them and waved him over. Tim scowled and quickly approached the table. </p><p>Lucy closed her eyes, and held them shut for a few minutes. She opened them again, and the image that had startled her was gone. Tim sat down at the table and frowned at both of them. “What?” Grayson pointed at Lucy. “I’m not sure...Chen was fine, and then she wasn’t.” Tim glanced at Lucy. “Boot? What is it?” Lucy looked between them and shook her head. “Nothing...it’s nothing. Just a little light headed.” Grayson and Tim rolled their eyes at the same time...then they spoke at the same time. “You’re a terrible liar.” Lucy glanced in surprise and laughed at both of them as Grayson glanced at Tim and smiled, who couldn’t help but grin back at him. The ice broken between the two, Tim sat with them until Grayson and Lucy had finished their lunch. Tim and Grayson couldn’t help but wonder what Lucy had seen to make her go so pale...and Lucy was beginning to think she was losing her mind.</p><p>After shift ended, everyone, including Wesley and Angela, met at a bar close to Mid Wilshire. Lucy had managed to talk Grayson into drinks after shift, and he thought it sounded fun, now that he knew Bradford wasn’t going to kill him. It was Angela and Wesley’s first night out since the baby was born, and Lucy and Nyla were gushing over the pictures of the baby...after they had all gushed over Grayson. Angela grinned at Lucy. “What I would have given to have been there and seen the look on Tim’s face when you got partnered with that guy...he’s H O T.” Lucy smiled as she watched Grayson. She had to admit...he really was hot. He was 6’2, the same athletic build as Tim, but a bit bulkier, with jet black hair that was cut into a high and tight military hairstyle, and eyes as blue as the Pacific.  “Well, he’s single, if you know of anyone Angela.” Angela laughed, as she glanced next to her, and looked at Wesley, who was engrossed in conversation with the rest of the guys. “I might have to be single for a few days.” Lucy smacked her hand playfully. Angela looked back at Lucy. “What else do you know about him?” Lucy shrugged. “He’s not a big talker...at least about himself. I think there’s a story there.”  Nyla sipped her wine as Angela sipped her water (she was breastfeeding) and Lucy sipped her margarita. Lucy looked at Grayson then, who was laughing at something Tim said. Yep...there was definitely a story there, and she was going to find out what it was.  Lucy glanced out the window that was next to her...and was relieved to see everything was normal. But she couldn’t shake the feeling that she was being watched.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Strays</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Lucy and Grayson grow closer as partners and friends. Grayson confides in Lucy what happened to him in Chicago that made him leave, and he begins to wonder what happened to her in L.A. Tim begins to see that Grayson is a good cop, and is just as protective of Lucy as he is. Lucy and Tim show up at Grayson's house, and it's a change for Grayson as he's used to being a loner. And Detectives Adam Sutherland and Julianna Mancinni are on the case of the bank robbers known as The Presidents.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Lucy and Grayson walked to their shop, and climbed in. She was letting Grayson drive today, because she began to realize the only reason she had wanted to drive when she rode with Tim was to piss him off. She actually enjoyed being chauffeured all shift. Grayson laughed at her as he started the shop up. Lucy glanced at him. “What’s so funny?” He laughed some more. “You are. You’re the first partner I’ve had that didn’t fight me to drive.” Lucy smirked at him. “Less work for me to do.” Grayson smiled as he backed the shop out of the parking space, and headed towards the exit for the parking lot. He glanced both ways, and pulled out onto the street. </p><p>They drove along when Lucy side eyed him. “So, Grayson...what’s your story?”  He sighed. Well...at least she’d waited until they had one shift together before starting the interrogation. “It’s a long story, Lucy.” Lucy smiled at him. “We’ve got a long day.” Grayson glanced over at her as Lucy smiled at him, and he realized she wasn’t being nosy, or looking for gossip...she was simply trying to be his friend. He was about to say something when Lucy threw him an easier question. “Ok...let’s start with your name...it’s definitely a cool name.” Grayson laughed...this was a story he didn’t mind telling. He watched the road as he was driving, and proceeded to tell her. “So, my mom, who raised me all by herself, was addicted to  romance novels. She named me after one of her favorite characters in her favorite romance novel.” Lucy couldn’t stifle her giggle, though she tried. Grayson just smiled. “Yeah, I get that a lot.” Lucy looked out her window as Grayson slowed to a stop at a red light. She looked back at him. “So...no dad?” Grayson sighed, wishing the stoplight would hurry up and change. “No...he bailed when mom told him she was pregnant. Never met him, don’t care to meet him. It was just mom and me...I don’t have any siblings or extended family.” Lucy looked at him sadly..she caught on to the past tense reference of his mother. “She’s gone?” Grayson nodded. “Yep.  Breast cancer got her...four years ago.” Lucy sighed. “I’m really sorry Grayson, that’s rough.” Grayson just nodded. “Thanks.” He sighed with relief as the light changed, and he continued driving. Lucy kept pushing...and for some reason, Grayson didn’t mind, which surprised him. “Do you miss Chicago?” Grayson turned and looked at her then. “Not a bit.” Lucy sighed as she waited, sensing there was a lot more to that story...and she was right. Grayson looked back at the road, and glanced around at their surroundings...he thought L.A. would be a bit more exciting than this, but so far, he hadn’t done near as much enforcing the law here as he’d done in Chicago.  Lucy looked at him calmly, and waited him out, making him smirk. “Ever see the movie Fatal Attraction, an 80’s movie with Michael Douglas and Glenn Close?” Lucy nodded. Grayson sighed. “So that’s why I left Chicago...except I wasn’t married, and she’s still alive.” Lucy’s eyes widened in shock. “What happened?” Grayson decided it was best to get it over with. “Nice girl...severe mental issues that I didn’t know about until after we were seriously dating. I broke up with her when I caught her in bed with my partner when I was with the PD in Chicago. She stalked me after that, threatened to kill herself, and me. The only thing she actually wound up doing was trashing my car, and burning down my garage. I put in notice after that, and left.” Lucy closed her eyes...poor Grayson. “What happened to her?” Grayson looked at her and then back at the road. “She was sent to a mental hospital for long term care. She’s still there as far as I know.” He’d definitely had a rough go of things. She sighed and looked at him. “You and I have more in common than you might think.” Lucy left it at that as Grayson continued driving, and Grayson wondered what story was in Lucy’s past that she had yet to share that put that look on her face that broke Grayson’s heart.</p><p>Lucy’s new radio call sign was 07-Adam-10. The police radio came alive, much to Grayson’s relief. “07-Adam-10, we have a 415 at the Hard Road Bar.” Lucy snatched up the radio. “This is 07-Adam-10 responding, ETA, five minutes.” Lucy and Grayson heard Tim’s voice come through the radio just then. “Dispatch, put 07-Adam-19 on the back, ETA six minutes.” Lucy rolled her eyes, as Grayson hit the lights and sirens. He glanced at her. “Something I should know?” Lucy smirked at him. “This is a biker bar we’re headed to, and they always fight us...and Bradford is not well liked there.” Grayson just grinned at her. “Sounds like fun.” Lucy shook her head, but couldn’t hide her grin as they headed towards the biker bar. </p><p>They pulled up and saw four bikers brawling. Lucy sighed. “Shit. Well, I guess it’s a good thing Bradford and Nolan are backing us up.” Grayson parked the car, as he and Lucy got out. Lucy immediately rested her hand on her stun gun, as she and Grayson walked to the front of their car. Grayson spoke first. “Is there a problem here gentlemen?” One of the bikers, who was shorter and fatter than Grayson, laughed at him. “No, no problem Officer. They’re straightening it out.” Grayson glanced at the fight, and saw two bikers on the ground, clearly unconscious, getting the shit beaten out of them. Grayson barked out a command. “They’ve had enough...back up, now.” </p><p>Just then, Bradford and Nolan pulled up and jumped out of the car. The two bikers who had beaten the others unconscious both whirled around. The older one who had a salt and pepper mustache started approaching Grayson as his buddy kept on kicking the unconscious bikers. “Get the fuck out of here, pretty boy, this don’t concern you.” He walked up to Grayson as Bradford also approached. Nolan called out to the other biker to lay off of the unconscious bikers. And then it was on.</p><p>The biker who got in Grayson’s face  started to throw a punch...and Grayson simply caught the guy’s fist in his own hand, gave it a sharp twist, and had the guy on the ground within five seconds. “I said he’s had enough. Now go get your guy off of him, or I’ll do it myself.” Grayson sighed as the guy moaned and made no effort to get up. “Too late.” Grayson started to approach the other biker who was still kicking the guys on the ground, when another biker got right in Lucy’s face. Before she, Bradford, or Nolan could react, Grayson moved like lightning, and stood in front of her. “You even breathe on my partner, and you’ll be sucking your dinner through a straw for a month. Back. Up. Now.” </p><p>Tim, deciding Grayson had things under control by the patrol cars, glanced at John, and they quickly approached the guy who was now on top of one of the unconscious bikers. They both reached down and dragged the guy off the unconscious biker. Tim snapped the cuffs on him before the biker could say anything. He shoved him at John, who nodded, and quickly walked the guy to the patrol car, reading him his rights,  and put him in the back of the car. Tim got on his radio. “Dispatch, this is 07-Adam-19, requesting two ambulances at the Hard Road Bar.” Tim turned around and saw that Grayson and the other biker were still in a stand off. Lucy intervened. “Unless you want to take a ride in a patrol car today, back the fuck off. Now.”  Tim hid his smile, but he couldn’t hide his pride as his former rookie went toe to toe with a biker twice her size.</p><p>Tim had had enough...he hated this shithole bar, and his voice thundered out as he approached Grayson, and pointed at the biker who was in Grayson’s face. Tim noticed the guy’s nose was severely crooked from all the fights he had obviously been in. “Hey...Pinocchio...either get back to your beer, or get the hell out of here. I don’t give a shit which choice you make.” The biker grinned a menacing smile at Grayson, and then pointed at Tim and laughed. “Pinocchio...I like that. Blondie’s got jokes.” Tim glared at him, and the guy finally backed off. Just then, two ambulances pulled into the parking lot. Tim, John, Lucy, and Grayson stuck around to make sure the paramedics weren’t harassed as they treated the unconscious bikers. Once they were safely loaded into the ambulances, and the ambulances were gone, Tim, John, Lucy and Grayson headed back to their patrol cars. Tim eyed Grayson. “Nice job, Wells.” Grayson smiled at him. “Thanks, Bradford.” Tim and John climbed into their patrol car and drove off with their biker, headed back to Mid Wilshrie to book him for aggravated assault. Lucy and Grayson got into their patrol car and drove off in the opposite direction. Grayson smiled at her. “I don’t know...no one even threw a punch at Bradford...they seem to like him pretty well.” Lucy just shook her head and laughed. “Yeah...first time for everything, I guess.” Grayson shook his head and laughed as their police radio came to life again. They were slammed the rest of the shift.</p><p>Tim sighed as he and Lucy pulled to a stop in front of the tiny house that Grayson had rented. “Boot...don’t you think is going a bit overboard? I mean yeah, I like the guy, but he’s not some poor, abandoned puppy who needs tending to.” Lucy frowned at him. “Tim...he’s literally all by himself. He has no family, and no friends that I’m aware of. He’s barely been in L.A. a year...and besides, I thought you liked him now?” Tim rolled his eyes. “I do like him...but I don’t remember being invited over to his house for pizza and beer. He may not even be here...he may have a social life you know absolutely nothing about. What if he’s busy?” Lucy caught the meaning behind the word busy, and rolled her eyes. “Just c’mon...it was a long shift, and I’m starving.” Tim sighed as he and Lucy got out of his truck and shut the doors. They opened the back doors, and as Lucy got out the beer and wine, Tim got out the three pizzas they had ordered. </p><p>Just then, Grayson came jogging around the corner. He slowed down to a walk, wiping the sweat off of his face with his shirt. He glanced between Tim and Lucy. He wasn’t used to people being so welcoming and wanting to include him and wasn’t sure how to handle it. He really liked Lucy, and now that he knew Tim wasn’t going to kick his ass for looking at her the wrong way, he liked Tim too. But he was a bit of a loner, and wasn’t sure how to proceed. “Ummm...ok. Did I make plans with you Chen and forget about them?” Lucy shook her head and smiled. “No you didn’t, but you meant to. C’mon the pizzas are getting cold and the wine is getting warm.” Lucy jogged ahead of them to the front door. Tim sighed. “Look...I’m sorry if we’re intruding. She tends to take in…” Grayson just laughed and finished the statement for Tim. “She takes in strays. It’s cool...Chen is really nice, and now that I know I’m not on your hit list, you’re not bad either.” Tim smirked at him. “So….this is ok? She kind of led me to believe you two had already planned all of this.” Tim was scowling at Lucy, who turned around and was waiting on them impatiently.  Grayson smiled at Tim and then at Lucy. “It’s fine. I need to get out more anyway. All I’ve been doing lately is training for a marathon.” Tim looked at him. “What marathon?” Grayson wiped more sweat off of his face and sighed. “Hoses Vs. Badges? It’s’ a marathon that the LAPD and LAFD hold every year. A charity kind of thing, and whatever money you win you donate to charity. I’m donating anything I win to Cops For Kids.” Cops For Kids was a relief fund to help the children of fallen police officers with tuition money for their education. No wonder Lucy liked Grayson so much...the guy was a saint, apparently.  Just then, Lucy squealed in delight as she heard a puppy barking. Tim grinned and then looked back at Grayson. “Guess you take in strays too.” Grayson nodded, and took one of the pizzas Tim was carrying, as they walked up the stone pathway in the front yard, and went inside Grayson’s house. And soon the three of them were chowing down on pizza, drinking beer and wine, and playing with Grayson’s puppy, Sheeba, who was a Great Pyrenees puppy he had stumbled across in a shelter. And for the first time since moving to L.A., Grayson finally felt like he belonged. </p><p>Detective Adam Sutherland and Detective Julianna Mancinni, partners in the Major Crimes division, were chowing down on cold cheeseburgers from In-N-Out and scowling at their whiteboard back at Mid Wilshire. It was late in the evening, and they were both tired. Jules, as she was called, choked down her cheeseburger with cold coffee that tasted like it had been made ten years ago. But she was used to the shitty food, long hours, and not great pay that went along with the job she loved...and the job she rocked at. Jules blinked her emerald green eyes several times, trying to ward off the dryness.  “I don’t get it Sutherland. These guys are pros...so why are they only hitting small banks? We don’t have jack shit on any of them, they could hit the freaking U.S. Treasury if they wanted to, and we still couldn’t stop them because we have no fucking clue who they are or when they’ll hit next.” Adam shrugged. “Maybe that’s why they’re sticking to small banks. The smaller the targets, the less of a media presence they have. And since they have such a low profile right now, we’re the only ones looking for them. Even the FBI doesn’t care about them yet.” Jules nodded and sighed. Well, she damn well cared. And she was going to do whatever it took to catch these bastards before anyone got seriously hurt or killed. That was her intention anyway...but sometimes the road to hell is paved with good intentions.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Trouble</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Angela brings her new baby by the station. Grayson meets the woman of his dreams, but he's too gunshy to do anything about it. Tim feels like he's losing Lucy. Lucy tells Grayson about her kidnapping. And Lucy and Grayson investigate suspicious activity in what's supposed to be an empty warehouse.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Angela Lopez was in heaven. She was sitting in Mid Wilshire, with her baby boy, Timothy, and felt almost normal again. She had given birth almost nine weeks ago. Her recovery had taken a little longer due to Timothy’s exciting entrance into the world, and then Angela had been hit with the baby blues. But now she felt like her old self again. She smiled as Lucy held Timothy and cooed to him, with Grayson standing next to her, smiling at the infant. Tim was sitting next to Angela, and they were all in the break room. Tim smiled at her. “It will be good to have you back, Lopez.” Angela smiled at him. “I’ve loved having these weeks off and spending all this time with my handsome little man. But I’m ready to get back out there. We found a great daycare for Timothy.” Tim looked over at Lucy who looked like she was in absolute heaven with the baby, and couldn’t help but grin. Angela elbowed him. “You thinking about baby Chens, Bradford?” He rolled his eyes. “No, not yet.” Angela laughed. “Yet...uh huh.” She glanced back at Grayson. “They sure seemed to have hit it off.” Tim nodded at that. “Yeah...Wells is actually a great guy, and a great cop. If I can’t be Lucy’s partner anymore, I’m glad he is.” Angela stared at Tim in shock. “I’ve never heard you be that nice to anyone Tim Bradford...I’m surprised.” Tim rolled his eyes as Angela shook her head and laughed at him. They smiled as they watched Grayson and Lucy fawn all over baby Timothy. </p>
<p>After Angela had taken Timothy home for a feeding and nap, Grayson was waiting for Lucy, who had gone to the locker room quickly for a bathroom break before they got back out on their patrol. Tim had already left with John. Jackson was off today and was going to visit Angela and her new baby boy.  Grayson was at the coffeepot, and turned when he heard a noise...and his world stopped.</p>
<p>Strolling into the break room was Detective Julianna Mancinni, the most beautiful woman he’d ever laid eyes on. She was tall for a woman..almost 6 feet. She had long, naturally wavy, black hair, almost as black as Grayson’s. Her eyes were the color of emeralds.  She was skinny, but also had a slightly athletic build, and moved with a confidence that spoke of grace...but Grayson also had a feeling she could kick some major ass if she needed to.  She frowned at him. “Did you drink the last of the coffee, patrolman? Because I don’t have the time to make any more right now.” Grayson had trouble finding his voice. His siren rolled her eyes and stalked back out of the break room before he’d been able to utter a word. Just then, Harper came in, and saw the awestruck expression on Grayson’s face, and smirked at him. “I see you met Jules.” Grayson frowned at her, and floated back down to reality. “Huh?” Nyla sighed as she firmly moved Grayson aside so she could pour herself a cup of coffee. She needed the caffine jolt, badly. She poured herself a cup, and then downed half of it. She glanced at Grayson. “That was Jules...Detective Julianna Mancinni. She’s a detective with Major Crimes. The few of us that are her friends call her Jules.” Grayson smiled. “Yeah? What else do you know about her?” Nyla shook her head. “She’s too much for you to handle, Wells. And that goes for basically everyone here at Mid Wilshire. She’s a great detective, and seen a lot...she’s worked for vice, organized crime, and her most recent stint was in homicide.” Grayson caught the way Nyla’s voice had changed...she sounded almost sad now. He frowned at Nyla. “What happened to her?” Nyla shrugged her shoulders...it wasn’t a big secret. “She solved the murder of her partner...and took down two dirty cops in the process. Some have had it out for her since then, because the cops she took down were well liked...but yes, they were also dirty; very dirty. She’s a ballbuster though...doesn’t take anyone’s shit, least of all the shit of a lowly patrolman. But she’s good police...and she’s a great person, honestly.” Nyla was smirking at him when she said that last part. He chuckled at her. “Thanks for the storytime. Looks like Chen is ready to get back out there.” Grayson left Nyla standing in the break room, but let his mind wander to the illustrious and mysterious Detective Mancinni.</p>
<p>Grayson and Lucy had just hit the streets when Grayson saw smoke coming from behind a building. He and Lucy looked at each other and frowned. Grayson, who was driving, stomped on the gas, and raced ahead of the other cars on the road, causing the tires to squeal as he made the sharp turn around the corner...and then promptly slammed on the breaks. Lucy reached for the radio. “Dispatch this is 07-Adam-10, we have a vehicle on fire at the corner of Sunset and Ocean streets. Send Fire and EMS to our location.” Grayson had already hopped out of the car and opened the trunk where they kept a small fire extinguisher. He grabbed it and used it on the car fire, but wasn’t able to make much of a dent in the fire. As Lucy looked through the flames and the smoke, she couldn’t see any victims in the car...but she smelled the very strong odor of gas, and covered her mouth and nose as she began coughing. She backed away from the car, as did Grayson, when something on the ground in the shadow of the building the burning car was parked in front of caught her eye. She sprinted over to it...and gasped. There on the ground was what looked like part of a Halloween costume. It was the face mask of Bill Clinton, former U.S. President. Grayson came over to her and stared. “What the hell is that?” She looked at him grimly. “It’s Bill Clinton...we better call Major Crimes out here. I think The Presidents were here.” Grayson raised his eyebrows in surprise. “The bank robbers?” Lucy nodded as Grayson glanced around confused...they weren’t any banks that he could see anywhere close by.  Lucy got on her police radio. “Dispatch, this is 07-Adam-10, send a supervisor and detectives from Major Crimes to our location.” </p>
<p>About thirty minutes later, Detectives Sutherland and Mancinni pulled up and parked in front of Grayson and Lucy’s shop. The fire department had just put the car fire out. Detective Sutherland went up to talk to the firemen as Detective Mancinni stalked to Grayson and Lucy. She nodded at them, frowning. “Show me what you found Officer Chen.” Lucy nodded and led Detective Mancinni the short distance away to the face mask. Detective Mancinni scowled as she knelt down and glared at the face mask. “Son of a bitch...those bastards were here. Damnit, they have to be close by.” She pulled out a pair of rubber grloves from her pocket and put them on, before picking up the face mask as Detective Sutherland came to join her. “What you got there, Jules?” Jules frowned. “Bill Clinton. I’m betting that damn car was their getaway vehicle, and they burned it and any evidence that was in there is now basically gone...fuck!” Lucy had retrieved a plastic bag from her patrol car and offered it to Jules, who thanked her, and put the face mask inside of it. She scowled at Lucy and Grayson. “When you two arrived on scene, were you dispatched to the scene? Did you see anyone? How involved was the fire when you got here?” Jules was rapidly firing questions at them, and frowning deeper and deeper as her impatience soared. She glared at them...mostly at Grayson. “Well?” She crossed her arms and scowled. Detective Sutherland was about to intervene when Grayson spoke. “If you’re finished, I’ll answer your questions.” Jules scowled deeper at Grayson. Grayson hid his smile. “No, we were not dispatched here. We were driving along and saw the smoke. No, we didn’t see anyone. And the vehicle was fully engulfed when we arrived on scene.”  Grayson continued to stare at Jules, with an eyebrow raised. Both Detective Sutherland and Lucy looked away so she wouldn’t see their grins. “Anything, else, Jules?” Jules got in Grayson’s face. “No, patrolman, that will be all. Go back, and beat your street.” She glanced at Adam. “Let’s get this to the crime scene techs.” She turned and stalked off back to her vehicle. Adam just laughed. “Nice move, Officer Wells. I’m sure I’ll get to hear all about you on the way back to the station. See you later, Lucy.” He turned around and followed his partner as Lucy looked at Grayson. She shook her head and laughed as they went back to their shop. Grayson didn’t miss it when Lucy nervously glanced around as they walked back to their shop, nor did he miss her loud sigh of relief when they drove off. Something was definitely up with her, and he was going to find out what.</p>
<p>As dusk was gracing it’s presence across the sky, Grayson was running through his neighborhood, and almost tripped when he came to a dead stop. There, across the street, out for an evening jog was none other than Detective Jules Mancinni. He wondered what kind of mean trick was being played on him. He figured it was worth the risk, and hurried across the street to catch up to her. He had no problem matching her stride. He didn’t say anything to her, just started running beside her. She glanced over at him. “What the hell?” Grayson couldn’t hide his smile. “I saw you out for a run, figured I’d join you.” She scowled, but didn’t look at him, as they kept running. “You weren’t invited; stop following me.” Grayson just laughed. “I’m not following you, Detective, or at least I wasn’t. This is my neighborhood.” She glanced at him, and then back in the direction she was running. “Well, you can stop following me now.” And with that, she put on a burst of speed, and left him in the dust. Oh well, he had to try. He was just about to turn around and run back home, when he saw her glance over her shoulder. He could tell she was trying not to smile. Then she rounded a corner, and was gone. Grayson wanted so badly to go after her...but after what had happened to him in Chicago, he was still gunshy. He instead walked back to his house, lost in thought about Detective Julianna Mancinni...and his partner, Officer Lucy Chen. </p>
<p>Later that evening, Tim was sitting on his couch, twirling Lucy’s engagement ring around his finger...alone. Something was going on with her, and he had no idea what. They were spending less and less time together. And she had come up with excuse after excuse why she “needed” to go to her apartment and be alone. It cut him deeply that she hadn’t confided in him. But honestly, he had no one but himself to blame...at least in his mind. He’d had chance after chance to make things with Lucy permanent. And each time, something had held him back from popping the question...and now, it seemed, he had maybe waited too long. He felt like he was losing her, piece by piece, and it freaking hurt. He sighed and put the ring back in it’s ring box, and walked into his guest room where his wall safe was, and put the ring box in it. Then he went to his bathroom and took a cold shower. He flopped into bed, not even having bothered to dry off, and fell into a troubled sleep.</p>
<p>The next day, Lucy was surprised when Grayson parked their shop at a coffee shop...it wasn’t even lunchtime yet. He glanced at her. “Ok, Chen...let’s have it. We can talk here, or in the coffee shop. But obviously something is up with you...and you need to tell me what it is. If you’re sick or whatever I can take you home.” Lucy rolled her eyes and shook her head. She had barely slept last night from the nonstop nightmares. And as the days passed she was getting more and more on edge, and apparently Grayson had started to notice.  Grayson softened his voice. “Lucy...look at me. Is it Tim? Are you safe?” Lucy turned to look at Grayson, shocked. “No, it’s not Tim!” Grayson continued to stare at her, and Lucy sighed. Her voice was barely above a whisper. “It’s not Tim...I promise.” Grayson nodded. “Ok...then what is it?” Lucy trembled...she had known this was coming. Grayson could read her almost as well as Tim could. She looked at him and shook her head sadly, resigned to having to tell him what was happening. “Let’s go inside and grab a cup of caffeine.” Grayson nodded. “Sounds good.” They went inside the coffee shop, and after placing their orders, Lucy spilled out her entire sad story.</p>
<p>Grayson was shaking his head. Damn...and he thought he’d been through hell in Chicago. That was a cakewalk compared to what Lucy had dealt with...and apparently was still dealing with. Grayson sipped his coffee. “He’s dead? You’re sure of that?” Lucy nodded. “Yes. Which makes me think I have some kind of severe psychological problem. I mean damnit, Gray, I was doing fine. My nightmares had almost stopped. I certainly didn’t hallucinate at all. Now I have nightmares all night long, every night,  and I see him everywhere I go.” Lucy glumly looked into her coffee before looking back at Grayson. “It’s like the universe is trying to tell me something.” Grayson looked at her grimly. “Maybe it is, Lucy. I’ve got your back, you know that. What’s Tim say about all this?” Lucy guiltily glanced away, as Grayson rolled his eyes. “Seriously? You haven’t told him? Lucy, he’s a smart guy, he’s going to figure it out soon enough. You need to be straight with him.” Lucy looked back at Grayson and  nodded, feeling incredibly guilty. “I know...and I will tell him. I promise.” </p>
<p>Just then, Lucy glanced out the window and frowned. “Did you see that?” Grayson looked in the direction Lucy had been looking, but didn’t see anything. “See what?” Lucy looked back at him. “I could swear I just saw Ronald Reagan walking around the corner to the alley across the street.” Lucy rolled her eyes impatient with herself...but Grayson was frowning at her intently. The coffee shop wasn’t too far away from where they found the burning car yesterday. “Let’s go check it out.” Lucy stared at him, awareness dawning. “The Presidents!” Grayson nodded, and he and Lucy practically ran out of the coffee shop, and hurried across the street, dodging cars.  They quickly reached the alley and rounded the corner...and found nothing. Lucy got on her radio. “Dispatch, this is 07-Adam-10, in the alley at the corner of Fraiser and Market. Put us down for suspicious activity.” Lucy heard the dispatcher’s voice come over her radio. “10-4 07-Adam-19. Are you requesting backup?” Lucy glanced at Grayson, who shook his head. “There’s nothing here, Chen.” Lucy nodded in agreement, and talked into her radio. “No, not at this time.”  They were about to leave when Lucy noticed a door to one of the warehouses in the alley was slightly ajar. She knew the warehouses in this alley weren’t currently being used for anything. She looked at Grayson and pointed at the door. He nodded, and they pulled their weapons out. Grayson slightly opened the door a little farther so they could go inside. As Lucy walked in behind him, the door suddenly slammed shut. Lucy pushed, but couldn’t get it open. Grayson then tried, and he had no luck either. He sighed. “Damn. How the hell did that happen?”  It was then they heard voices coming from somewhere deep in the warehouse. They crept forward with their guns raised, and came to another door. As they opened it, two strong arms reached through the door and yanked them through the doorway. Grayson didn’t have time to dodge the blow and went down, hard, and didn’t get back  up. Lucy gasped as several armed men raised their guns, aiming at her.</p>
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<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Trapped</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Lucy and Grayson are trapped in a warehouse with six armed men and realize that they've stumbled across the hideout of the bank robbers known as The Presidents. Grayson is seriously injured, and is unable to help or defend Lucy against them. As Lucy and Grayson attempt to hide and defend themselves, no one yet realizes they're missing. Tim asks John if John has noticed anything different about Lucy...and John definitely has.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Tim and John had just left Mid Wilshire. It had already been a busy morning, and the shift wasn’t even halfway over yet. They had just booked a married couple, for domestic assault. It was the fifth time in a month the couple had been booked. John sighed.  “I wish they would hurry up and get divorced already. I’m sick and tired of going to that house almost every week.” Bradford nodded in agreement. He glanced at John, and figured he’d ask...maybe Nolan would know. “Nolan...can I ask you something?” John looked at Tim and nodded. “Sure...what’s up?” Tim sighed. “Have you spent any time with Lucy lately outside of work?” John wasn’t sure where this was going. “Umm...well, Lucy, myself, and Jackson went out for pizza and beers the other night. It was just the tree of us...we used to do that a lot when we were in the academy.” Tim nodded, and hoped John would have the answers he was looking for. “Did she seem ok? I mean have you noticed anything different about her lately?” John sighed...so it hadn’t been just his imagination. When he and Jackson and Lucy had gone out the other night, Lucy had been on edge most of the evening, and had barely eaten anything. She had seemed anxious and nervous. But at the time, he and Jackson had just chalked it up to a long shift...and it had indeed been a long one. John looked nervously at Tim. “Well, now that you mention it, she was acting a little off. She acted really nervous, and anxious, and she kept glancing at the front entrance.” Tim huffed in frustration. He snapped at John before he could help himself. “Why the hell didn’t you tell me?” John rolled his eyes. “Because it had been a crappy shift. Jackson and I both noticed she was acting strange, but we were all tired, and worn out from shift. We just chalked it up to that.  You think it’s something else?” Tim shrugged his shoulders helplessly. “I don’t know. She hasn’t talked to me about whatever is going on. But obviously something is going on. I’ll talk to her tonight.” He didn’t care what excuse Lucy threw his way, he was going to spend tonight with her and get to the bottom of whatever the hell was going on. Before John could say anything else, they heard the dispatcher’s voice over the radio, requesting assistance for a four car accident on Hollywood Blvd.  John answered the request for assistance as Tim hit the lights and sirens and sped to the accident scene. He’d have to worry about Lucy later.</p>
<p>Lucy and an unconscious Grayson had been dragged to the middle of a large room with lots of windows. Lucy glanced around in disbelief. She and Grayson had accidentally stumbled into the lair of the bank robbers known as The Presidents. She saw duffle bags everywhere and assumed they were full of cash. She saw their costumes and face masks hanging on a clothes rack. She saw several trash bags full of remnants of to go boxes and bags...which made the place reek. But what scared her the most was the angry eyes of the six armed men she was staring into.  She was sitting down on the ground, next to an unconscious Grayson, who was bleeding heavily from a head wound. He had been hit twice in the head, hard, with a baseball bat. Lucy glanced up at the man closest to her. “He needs to get to a hospital.” The guy closest to her just laughed. “Yeah, right, like that’s going to happen.” Lucy glared at him. “You trying to get thrown under a prison? Things are already bad enough for you guys...if you throw a dead cop into the mix, they won’t even think twice about giving you the death penalty.” The six armed men glanced at each other uneasily before looking back at Lucy...she might have a point. The guy standing the furthest away from her went to a table by the door. There was a tackle box on it. He carried it to her and tossed it down in front of her. He didn’t say anything to her as she opened the lid to the tackle box. Well, it wasn’t a hospital, but, it was better than nothing. Hopefully she could stop the bleeding at least for a while. She grabbed the gauze out of the box and gently lifted Grayson’s head, wrapping several layers of gauze around his head. She taped the gauze in place. She glanced at the guy who had thrown her the tackle box. “Can I put something under his head? You guys have a blanket or a towel or anything?” Lucy didn’t care right now about dealing with six armed men...she was too worried about Grayson. The guy glared at her, but went into a cardboard box that was by one of the windows, and pulled out a ratty beach towel and threw it at her. She caught it and folded it and gently put it under Grayson’s head. It wasn’t much, but at least now his head wasn’t resting on a cold, metal floor. She glanced up at the men. “So, what now?” One of the men chimed in, glaring at the man who was obviously the ringleader. “Yeah, Bobby...what now?” Bobby glared at the guy who had just spoken. “You dumbfuck...no names!” Before Lucy knew what was happening, Bobby drew a gun out from the waistband of his pants, and shot the guy who had used his name. Lucy gasped in horror as one the guy fell to the floor dead.  Bobby glanced at the four men standing in shock at what he had just done. “Anyone else gets stupid, that’s what happens. Let’s go get some food...and let’s get this trash out of here, it stinks so bad in here I want to puke.” The guys nodded at him. As they were picking up the trash bags, one of them looked at Lucy and Grayson. “What about them?” Bobby laughed, menacingly. “I don’t think they’re going anywhere. We’ll lock them in. Hey...cop chic. I’m not a monster, I’ll bring you and your boyfriend over there back some food and water.” Lucy heard the phrase ‘I’m not a monster,’ and was immediately launched back into the past, when Caleb had uttered those exact words to her when she was tied to a chair. Bobby frowned at her, then shrugged his shoulders. He looked at the others. “C’mon, let’s go.” They grabbed the trash bags, and opened the heavy, metal door. They slammed it shut and locked it. Lucy looked at Grayson helplessly. He was still unconscious. She got up and ran to one of the grimy windows. It had bars on both the inside and the outside of it, and Lucy pounded it in frustration. They were three floors up now, and they had no escape. They were trapped. She only hoped that Tim would figure out something was wrong and would rescue them in time.</p>
<p>Tim and John along with Jackson and Nyla were working the accident scene on Hollywood Blvd. What had gone from a couple of fender benders had turned into an all out brawl, and traffic was blocked for miles in both directions.  Two middle aged men, one heavy set and one  just the opposite were still screaming insults at each other. John was trying to calm them down as Tim glared at both of them. “Alright, that’s it! You’re both going in for assault, disturbing the peace, and anything else I can come up with because I’ve had enough!” Nyla glanced over at him and smirked. The other two parties involved in the accident were both being extremely cooperative and polite. She couldn’t help but laugh as Tim and John put their two brawlers in the backseat of their shop. Tim glanced at his watch and realized he’d probably miss lunch with Lucy and Grayson. Just as well, he supposed, he had been in a bad mood when shift had started, and now he was in a worse mood. Definitely not the time to talk to Lucy about whatever was going on with her. Nyla and Jackson had finished up their part of the accident and walked over to Tim and John. “Want us to bring you guys lunch?” Tim was about to say no when John nodded. “Yeah, please...anything. I’m starving.” Tim sighed. “Yeah, thanks. Whatever is convenient. I’ll pay you back when you guys get back to the station.” Nyla waved him off as she and Jackson went back to their shop, and left. Tim and John got into their shop as the traffic division showed up to help unsnare the traffic jam. The guys in the back seat were still hurling insults at each other. Tim frowned at them. It was going to be a long drive back to the station.</p>
<p>Nyla and Jackson had just gotten their food, as Jackson glanced around, surprised. Nyla caught the look and immediately went on alert. “What is it, West?” He glanced at her. “Oh...nothing, ma’am. I’m just surprised Lucy and Grayson aren’t here.” Nyla shrugged. “Maybe they went somewhere else for lunch.” Jackson nodded...that was probably it. Still, he couldn’t shake the feeling that something was wrong. Lucy loved the food trucks, because of their variety, and because, assuming the weather was nice, she could sit outside for lunch. Nyla grabbed their orders, as she noticed West had zoned out. “I don’t feel like eating at the station, and Bradford and Nolan will have to do paperwork anyway. Let’s eat here first and then we’ll take their food to them.” Jackson nodded, as they went to their table. He fished out his cell phone and took a picture of his lunch and sent it to Lucy...bragging that Harper had bought his lunch. He waited for a response, but there was none. He put his phone away and dug into his food, wondering where Lucy and Grayson were.<br/>
Grayson moaned, as Lucy rushed back over to him. He slowly sat up, as waves of nausea and dizziness rolled through him. “Grayson! Oh Thank God...look at me.” Lucy checked his pupils and were relieved to see they were normal and active. Some of the blood had already soaked through the gauze though, and that worried her. Grayson frowned at her. “What the hell happened? Christ, my head feels like the Super Bowl is being played inside it.” Lucy looked at him grimly. “Short version...we’ve located the hideout of The Presidents, yes they know, the leader already killed one of his men, and we’re trapped. We have to find a way out of here.” Grayson nodded...damn, they’d sure stepped in some shit this time. “Then what the hell are we waiting for? Let’s go.” He tried to stand up and immediately began to fall. Lucy grabbed him, and helped him stand. He leaned heavily on her as they made their way to the only door in the room. Relief washed over Lucy...the lock was so rusted, it hadn’t completely moved into place. She held onto Grayson as she yanked hard, and the door sprang free, almost smacking them in the face. She propped Grayson against the doorframe, and ran to the stairwell. She looked up, and down, but didn’t see anything. She ran back over to Grayson, and just as he had leaned on her, they heard voices. Lucy looked at him in alarm, and then at the stairwell. They had no choice...they’d have to go up and hope they found a hiding place.  They had no weapons or a way to call for help as Bobby had removed their utility belts and their weapons. Lucy and Grayson both knew it was them against the Presidents. Lucy all but dragged Grayson over to the stairwell, and they hobbled up the stairs. They made it up two flights of stairs before Grayson moaned. “I need to sit down.”  They came to another room...which also had lots of windows, all covered in bars, both inside and out, but offered no hiding place. Lucy hobbled into the room with him and they made it to a window.  Grayson all but melted into the floor. He was still dizzy and nauseous. Lucy frantically looked around for a weapon of any kind. She saw an old, rusted crowbar by one of the windows. It was definitely better than nothing. She grabbed it just as she heard Bobby’s voice ring out. “What the fuck? Where the hell are they? Find them!” </p>
<p>Lucy quietly put the crowbar down as she ran back to Grayson. She reached under his arms, and dragged him to a corner of the room, on the other side of the door. Then she grabbed the crowbar and ran to hide behind the door...and waited. </p>
<p>She heard someone pounding up the stairs. She raised the crowbar over her head. Just as the guy entered the room, Lucy slammed the crowbar into his face. She slammed it over his head again, knocking him unconscious. He slumped to the ground, as Lucy ran back to Grayson. “You stay here. I’m going to lead them away from this room.” Grayson frantically grabbed her. “Lucy...don’t be stupid, you can’t take on four guys by yourself. You know as well as I do what they’ll do to you if they catch you.” He sighed, damning himself for having told Lucy not to call backup when they’d had the chance to. He opened his eyes...and that’s when he saw it. “Look! Far side of the room on the left. There’s no window there. And those bars are so rusted, you can probably get them to break.” Lucy nodded and rushed to the window he had pointed out. Luck was on their side...the bars were so rusted they practically fell out of the wall as soon as Lucy grabbed them. They could escape! Lucy ran back to Grayson. The blood was leaking through the gauze now...and he was lightheaded again. He grabbed her hand. “Go out the window, Chen. It’s our only chance. Go out the window, and get help. Go, now!” Tears came to Lucy’s eyes. Grayson had quickly become like a brother to her, and there’s no way she could leave him when he was totally defenseless. She shook her head fiercely. “No! I’m not leaving you here. There’s no way you can defend yourself, Grayson. You can’t even stay on your feet longer than a few minutes, and you’re bleeding heavily again.” Grayson glared at her. “If you don’t go, we’re both dead Chen. They’ll kill both of us before they let us walk out of here.” Lucy looked at the window and then back at Grayson. “I’m not leaving you.”  She stalked off with the crowbar, and hid behind the door again...and waited for her prey.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Fight or Flight</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Tim finally realizes that Lucy and Grayson are missing after conferring with his fellow officers...no one has seen or heard from them since the beginning of shift. Tim alerts Sgt. Grey, who managed to track down Lucy and Grayson's last known location and launches a search party. Lucy tangles with The Presidents as she defends herself and Grayson against their attacks.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Tim and John pulled over for the third time on the way back to the station. The dumbasses in the back seat of their shop wouldn’t stop fighting, and were now kicking each other. Tim was so fucking done. He slammed on the breaks and threw the car into park. His voice thundered inside the patrol car. “That’s it! Nolan, out of the car, now!” Tim threw his door open as John did the same and stalked to the back of the shop. He yanked the back door open, and jerked one of the guys in the back seat out of the car. “Lucky you, you get to ride up front with me. You touch anything, and I mean anything, and you’ll be in prison for ten years by the time I get done with you.” The guy glared at him as Tim threw him into the front seat. Tim slammed the door, as John got into the back seat with the other guy. Tim got into the driver’s side and slammed the door. He glared at the guy sitting beside him. Then he glared at the guy in the back with John. “If either of you cause any more problems, I’m going to let you out of the car, take the cuffs off, and let you beat the shit out of each other. Then I’ll re arrest both of you for attempted murder. Not one more word!” Both of the guys had shrunken into themselves underneath Tim’s glare. John had to hide his smile...he really wanted Bradford to teach him that Clint Eastwood glare of his.</p>
<p>Nyla glanced around the station impatiently. “I can’t believe Bradford and Nolan aren’t back yet. I’m not waiting around here forever. C’mon, let’s go put this in the break room for them.” Jackson nodded as they carried the food into the break room and set it on the table. She was wondering what to do with it when she saw Jackson looking at his phone...frowning. She looked at him. “What is it?” He sighed. “Lucy hasn’t texted me back yet.” Nyla rolled her eyes. “You see how busy it is today...they probably just haven’t had a lull yet.” But Nyla could tell Jackson was worried. She sighed. “Let it go, West, we’re busy.” He nodded, and put his phone back into his pocket. Just then, Tim stalked into the break room. Nyla frowned at him. “Where the hell have you guys been? I thought you’d be back here at the station long before us.” Tim glared at her as John rolled his eyes. “The two douchebags we arrested weren’t exactly cooperative on the way back here. We had to pull over three times because they wouldn’t stop fighting.” Nyla laughed as John took a deep breath...something smelled really good, and his stomach was growling loud enough for everyone to hear. He glanced at the table. “Please tell me that’s beef and cheese tacos.” Nyla smiled and nodded. John dove into the bag and grabbed two wrapped tacos out of it and handed them to Tim. Then he grabbed another two. He and Tim sat down at the table, scarfing down their lunch. Nyla took pity on them and went to the small fridge in the break room and got out two bottles of water. She took the bottles to them and smirked. “There...I made you lunch. I’m not making dinner.” John smiled at her as Tim downed his first taco, and began unwrapping the second one. His mouth full, he nodded his thanks at Nyla. He was freaking starving too.</p>
<p>He noticed West frowning at his phone, and glanced at Nyla, and then back at West. “What’s up?” Nyla rolled her eyes. “West is sad because Lucy hasn’t texted him back yet.” Tim narrowed his eyes at Nyla. “Did you guys see her and Wells at lunch?” Nyla shook her head. “No, we went to the food trucks. She and Wells probably went somewhere else for lunch.” Nyla shrugged her shoulders...but then she looked back at Tim, who had just finished his second taco and was scarfing down a third. He was shaking his head. “Lucy never misses the food trucks on Tuesdays. That’s when they have their buy one get one free veggie tacos. She loves those things.” Tim looked around at the three of them.  “When’s the last time any of you heard from either her or Wells?”  After a quick discussion, they all realized they hadn’t heard from either one since leaving the roll call room at the beginning of shift. Tim whipped out his cell phone and called Lucy. He got no response. He called her twice more, and again, no response. Then he called Wells. He got no response from him either.  Tim jumped up and ran to Sgt. Grey’s office, his lunch all but forgotten. Nyla, Jackson, and John hurried after him.</p>
<p>Sgt. Grey was on the phone when Tim walked in. Sgt. Grey glared at him. “In a minute, Officer Bradford.” Tim shook his head, surprising Sgt. Grey. “No sir, right now. We might have a problem.” Sgt. Grey frowned at him, and then told whomever he was talking to he’s have to call them back. He hung up the phone, and frowned at Tim as he saw Harper, West, and Nolan enter his office as well. His frowned deepened. “I trust one of you has an explanation?” Tim spoke up first.  “Sarge, no one has seen or heard from Officer Chen or Officer Wells since we all left the roll call room this morning. Now, it has been a busy shift, but they’ve not been in contact since they left the station.” Sgt. Grey frowned at that as West spoke up. “Sir, I texted Officer Chen over an hour ago...and she never responded.” Tim looked at Sgt. Grey grimly. “I called both Officer Chen and Officer Wells multiple times...I couldn’t reach either one of them.” Sgt. Grey looked at the anxious faces of his officers and nodded…something was definitely wrong. </p>
<p>Sgt. Grey sighed. He picked up his radio. “Officer Chen, this is Sgt. Grey. Report in please.” he waited...and got no response. He tried to raise Lucy on her radio again, and got no response, again. Then he tried Officer Wells on the radio...and was met with the same  silence. He picked up his office phone and called the police communications center. “This is Adam Watch Commander Sgt. Wade Grey, I need the last known location of 07-Adam-10, as well as the time of their last radio transmission.” Sgt. Grey frowned into the phone as he got the information he was seeking...it was not what he was hoping to hear. He hung up the phone and looked at the concerned faces in his office. “Officer Chen and Officer Wells last transmitted at 10 am this morning. Their last transmission indicated they were checking out suspicious activity. They were asked if they needed backup, and they declined.” He wrote down the address Lucy had given in her last transmission, and handed it to Tim.  “That’s where they last checked in from. Go check it out.” Tim nodded as he and Nolan quickly left the office. Sgt. Grey glanced at Jackson and could tell the young officer wanted to go check it out also. Sgt. Grey sighed. “Detective Harper, Officer West, go with them. I want Officer Chen and Offer Wells found, immediately. All of you, stay in contact!” They nodded at Sgt. Grey and hurried out of his office. Sgt. Grey sighed and closed his eyes...looked like another long shift was coming. He texted Monica and told her to cancel their dinner reservations.</p>
<p>Tim and John pulled into the alley and parked.  They hopped out of the shop, and Tim frowned as he looked across the street. “Wait a second...isn’t that their car? Why would Chen have checked in from here if their car is over there?” Before John could answer, Nyla and Jackson pulled up. She rolled down her window and looked at Tim. “What’s up?” Tim pointed towards the coffee shop. “Go check out that shop..I think that’s Chen’s.” Nyla nodded, and drove away, as John and Tim looked around the alley. They didn’t see or hear anything suspicious. John looked at Tim. “Now what?” Tim glanced at him. “Let’s walk...something in this alley got Lucy’s attention, and I want to know what the hell it was.” They proceeded to walk down the alley, looking for any sign of Lucy and Grayson.</p>
<p>Nyla and Jackson parked in front of the coffee shop, and got out of their car. Nyla looked at Jackson. “You go inside and see if they happen to be in there. Show their picture around to anyone and everyone in there, see if anyone saw them.” Jackson nodded and hurried into the coffee shop as Nyla opened Lucy and Grayson’s shop. She looked all around the front and back seats, and even looked in the trunk, but found nothing at all suspicious, or anything to indicate where Lucy and Grayson were. A few minutes later, Jackson came out of the coffee shop, with a worried look on his face. Nyla looked at him as she was examining the trunk. “Well?” Jackson forced the words out. “They were here...and then both of them ran out of the coffee shop, across the street, and into that alley that Bradford and Nolan are checking. They didn’t even finish their drinks.” Nyla sighed and looked across the street. Something had definitely happened.,,and it obviously wasn’t good. She radioed Sgt. Grey and updated him. </p>
<p>As Tim, John, Nyla, and Jackson were looking for them, Lucy and Grayson were panting. They had just taken down another member of the gang of bank robbers known as The Presidents. Lucy had clobbered him with the crowbar. He’d fought back hard. It had taken all of Grayson’s strength to crawl over to them, but he’d managed it, and had used his legs to trip the guy; he’d slammed his legs into the guy’s stomach, causing him to fall. When the guy fell down, Lucy knocked him over the head with the crowbar...and the guy was now out cold. Grayson was now drowning in the blood pouring down his face, and the waves of nausea that kept rolling through him. But he had to stay conscious...Lucy needed him. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Bobby was furious.  His crew was falling apart. He’d had to kill one of them for being stupid. When he and the rest of them had gotten back to the warehouse with food and discovered the police officers gone, he’d sent the rest of his crew to find them. He knew damn well the cops hadn’t made it out of the warehouse, so obviously they were somewhere inside it. It shouldn’t be that fucking hard to find two police officers inside a warehouse, one of whom was injured. But none of them had returned yet. He was about to go looking for them when two of his crew burst inside the room. He frowned at them. “Well? Where the hell are those damn cops? And where the hell are Dwight and Ronnie?” His guys both looked at him and shook their heads. “We don’t know man. Look...let’s get the hell out of here while we still can. Those cops are who knows where by now, and Dwight and Ronnie aren’t answering their cell phones. Let’s take what we already have, and bail.” Bobby glared at him. “Fuck that! We finish this job, just like we planned.” They both looked at him, and Bobby could tell they were going to bail on him too. He calmly looked at them. “You know what? Screw it. Get the fuck out of here. I don’t share well anyway.” The men glared at him. “Hey...that’s our money too you bastard!” Bobby pulled out his gun and aimed it at them. “Is it?” He cocked the gun...and the two men scattered like rats. Bobby laughed as what remained of his crew bailed on him. Just as well...now he wouldn’t have to share any of the money with anyone. All in all, The Presidents had stolen close to three million dollars, and now it was all Bobby’s. That suited him nicely...now he just had to find those damn cops and kill them. </p>
<p>Lucy and Grayson looked at each other. Grayson sighed, fighting the urge to throw up. “So that’s three down...three more to go.” They had no way of knowing that only Bobby was left for them to handle. Just then they heard Bobby’s voice. “Come out, come out wherever you are. I know you’re in here...not many places to hide.”  Lucy gathered herself. Her uniform was torn, her hair was in shambles, her entire body hurt from the fights she’d already been in. She had the beginnings of a black eye, a big red mark on her cheek where one of them had clocked her, sore ribs, and bruises forming in several places on her arms and legs. But she’d fight as hard and for as long as she had to until someone came to rescue her and Grayson. She rushed to Grayson and hooked her arms underneath his armpits, and dragged him back to the place she’d stowed him before. Then she ran and grabbed the crowbar, and hid behind the door. She was ready for what felt like the millionth round in a cage match. </p>
<p>She raised the crowbar as she heard Bobby enter the room...but he wasn’t stupid. He kicked the door with his foot, and caused it to slam into Lucy, who dropped the crowbar. “Ha...found you, you stupid bitch!” Bobby sprang as Lucy sprang, and they wrestled with the gun. Lucy screamed in fury as Bobby kicked and punched her. She fought him just as hard as he was fighting her and kicked and punched the hell out of him.  She knew that if she didn’t win this fight she and Grayson were dead. Grayson was doing everything he could to stand up and get to Lucy, but he was so dizzy and nauseous that everytime he tried to stand his legs gave out. The last Grayson saw of Lucy before he passed out was an image that would be burned forever into his brain. Lucy knocked the gun out of Bobby’s hand, and used all of her strength to shove him as hard as she could backwards through the doorway. She and Bobby both went diving off the stairs...and out of sight. Grayson’s eyes went wide as he saw Lucy tumble through the air and then out of his line of sight. “Lucy….Lucy!” Grayson thought he yelled her name, but it was actually a mumble. He slid sideways to the floor and passed out.</p>
<p>Tim and John quickly drew their weapons as they saw two guys come flying out of a warehouse. Tim’s voice barked out a command. “On your knees! Hands where I can see them! Get on the ground, now!” The guys turned and started running, and Tim and John took after them. It was while they were chasing them that Tim heard Lucy’s scream. He and John tackled the guys to the ground and easily cuffed them. Tim got on his radio. “Dispatch this is 07-Adam-19, officer needs assistance.” Nyla and Jackson were still looking in Lucy’s shop when she heard Tim’s call for help over the radio. She glanced quickly at Jackson.  “C’mon!” They ran back to their shop and even though it was a short distance to the alley, Nyla hit the lights and sirens and floored it out of the parking lot and across the street. Jackson closed his eyes, praying the other cars could stop in time before crashing into them. They did...but just barely. Nyla stomped on the gas and went speeding down the alley, slamming on the breaks when she saw Tim and John...and their cuffed suspects. Nyla jumped out. “Did you find them?” Tim shook his head. “No...but I know they’re here...we just heard Lucy scream. They’re here somewhere.” He grabbed the guy he had just cuffed and spun him around and got in his face. “Where the hell are they?” The guy sneered at him. “I don’t know who you’re talking about, cop.” Tim jerked him forward. “You better tell me where those police officers are, and you better tell me right now.” Nyla got in the guy’s face and tried to work her magic too, but he didn’t utter another word...just sent them a menacing smile. Jackson and John put both of the cuffed suspects in the backseat of Jackson and Nyla’s shop when it became obvious neither of them were going to talk. Nyla and Tim looked frantically around, and Tim prayed he would hear another sound. “Lucy! Lucy!” He cupped his hands and yelled as loud as he could...but all he heard in return was silence.</p>
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<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Saved</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Lucy and Grayson continue to fight for their lives. The team finally manages to track them down and rushes to save them. Grayson competes in the Hoses Vs. Badges Marathon...does he win?</p>
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    <p>Grayson was the first to regain consciousness. Surprisingly, he felt marginally better. He was still bleeding, but the nausea had finally passed, which was a godsend. He groaned as he sat up and looked around. Then it all came rushing back to him. The last time he’d seen or heard Lucy, she was screaming as she and Bobby had taken a swan dive off of the stairs. He slowly got to his feet. He wasn’t very steady on his feet, but he was better than he had been before. He slowly began making his way to the doorway...and froze. There was Bobby, with a gun pointed straight at him. Bobby grinned menacingly at him. “Your girlfriend is dead...and now it’s your turn.” Grayson started to charge at him when he saw the best thing he’d ever seen. There was Lucy...and she was coming on strong. Lucy had regained consciousness after Bobby had...and Bobby hadn’t thought to actually check if she was in fact dead or not, he just assumed she was since they’d fallen down a flight of metal stairs and landed hard. Bobby cocked his gun, as Lucy sprang. She had found a large piece of glass on the floor, and launched herself on top of Bobby, stabbing him in the arm over and over and over again. Bobby screamed as the glass tore into his flesh. He mustered just enough strength to raise his weapon again, and Lucy stabbed him in the neck as Bobby tried to fire his weapon. Bobby crumpled to the ground, dead. Lucy collapsed on the stairs, the last of her strength gone, as Grayson weakly made his way towards her. Grayson reached her and crumpled on the stairs beside her. They wrapped their arms around each other and simply held each other, thankful to still be alive. </p>
<p>Nyla whirled as she heard the screams. “There! It’s coming from inside that warehouse!” She pointed to the warehouse that was closest to them, and she, John, and Tim went running, their weapons drawn. Jackson stayed behind to guard the cuffed suspects in the patrol car. Tim yanked the door open and called out. “Chen! Wells! Call out if you can hear me!” He was looking around when he saw Lucy and Grayson hobbling down the stairs. Tim rushed forward as he holstered his weapon to grab Grayson as he was all but crushing Lucy. Nyla rushed forward as well, holstering her weapon, and caught Lucy just as Lucy stumbled. John still had his weapon raised and was looking around the warehouse. “What the hell happened to you two?” Lucy weakly leaned against Nyla as she looked at John. “A lot. Grayson needs an ambulance, he’s been bleeding heavily for a few hours now.” Tim got on his radio and requested an ambulance, and informed dispatch that Officer Chen and Officer Wells had been safely located and recovered.  Then he looked at Lucy. “I can’t wait to hear what this is all about, Boot.” He helped Grayson sit down on the last step. “Ambulance is on it’s way, buddy. You’ll be ok.” Grayson gave Tim a smile, which was pretty grotesque considering all the dried blood all over his face. He looked at Lucy. “I think I love my new partner. She saved me.” Tim grinned at Lucy. “Of course she did, I trained her.” Nyla rolled her eyes, as John went looking around the warehouse. “Holy shit.” Tim looked sharply at him. “What is it, Nolan?” John smiled and looked at him. “Better get Major Crimes over here. I think Chen and Wells found the hideout of The Presidents.” Tim looked sharply at Grayson and Lucy. He left Grayson sitting on the steps and went to take a look around the warehouse, letting out a low whistle as he did. He looked back over at Grayson and Lucy, and smiled. “Not bad. Not too bad at all.” Within thirty minutes the alley and warehouse were swarming with cops, and Grayson was on his way to the hospital. Lucy had declined to go get checked out. She wanted to go with Grayson, but knew one of them had to get the paperwork done, so she had gone back to the station. Tim, John, Nyla, and Jackson had gone back to the station as well, to book the guys Tim and John had captured in the alley.</p>
<p>Lucy trudged back into the station...and she looked a fright. Her hair was a mess, hanging at all angles, and some of it was plastered around her face from dried blood and sweat, her uniform was torn and dirty, her left eye was swollen and black, her jaw was swollen, and she generally hurt all over. But she considered it a win, because she was alive, and so was Grayson, and The Presidents were no more. As Lucy walked into the roll call room, she was surprised to see it was packed. Sgt. Grey came up to her, with a look of pride on his face. “Officer Chen...I honestly can’t believe what I’m hearing.” Lucy tried, and failed to hide her eyeroll. She wasn’t in the mood for anyone’s crap. She frowned at Sgt. Grey. “What did you hear?” He smiled at her. “I’m hearing that you and Officer Wells basically by yourselves, brought down a gang of bank robbers that we’ve been after for months, and that you saved your partner’s life. I’m hearing that when you had the chance to escape, you didn’t. You instead chose to stay with your partner, knowing the danger you were both in.” Lucy closed her eyes and sighed. “I know it was wrong to not call for backup…” Just then, the Chief of the LAPD walked up to Lucy, who quickly stood as straight as she could, causing her ribs to wince. She hadn’t even noticed he was there. He grabbed Lucy’s hand, and gave it a firm handshake. “Outstanding job, Officer Chen. You keep surprising me.” Just then, Lucy heard a slow clap and turned around...and there was Tim, with a big grin on his face. He continued clapping, and soon the others joined him. Lucy looked around, and smiled, though she wasn’t smiling inside. She and Grayson had almost died today, and she’d had to take a life to save theirs. That would be with her for a long time.</p>
<p>Later that evening, Lucy sat in the locker room in a tank top and shorts. Bruises and red marks covered her arms and legs. The events of today played over and over and over in her mind.  It still weighed on her heavily, that she’d killed someone. The guy had been just a kid, practically. They all had...barely in their 20’s. She wondered what kind of lives they’d had to make them go down the dark road they’d chosen. But she knew if she hadn’t done what she’d done today, she and Grayson would be dead. She sighed as she heard the locker room door open...and was surprised to see Tim. “Hey...you planning on spending the night in here?” Lucy looked at him...and then she crumpled. The stress of the events of the day, followed by the stress of what she hadn’t yet talked about with Tim, finally got the best of her and the tears came...and they wouldn’t stop. She sobbed as Tim walked to her and sat down on the bench with her. He gathered her in his arms and held her as the sobs wracked her already sore body.  “Shhhh….baby. It’s ok. I’m right here. You did good today, Boot.” Lucy sobbed louder as he paid her a compliment, and he held her tighter, thankful that she’d made it off this shift alive. It had been one hell of a shift. He held her as he felt her tears soak through his shirt, and he sighed in content...those tears meant his Boot was still alive, and would live to fight another day.</p>
<p>Grayson was frowning at the tray of hospital food. His nausea was long gone, and doctors had stitched his head up. But they’d insisted that he spend the night in the hospital for observation. He had a pretty bad concussion...but nothing that would keep him down. He’d had worse playing football in high school. He was ready to go home, and he was starving, and this crap hospital food just wasn’t going to cut it. He had FaceTimed with Lucy earlier, checking on her, and was glad to see she was at Tim’s house. They had offered to bring him food, but he’d declined. He didn’t want to get in the way. He sighed as he leaned back and closed his eyes.  Then he felt something drop into his lap, startling him. He cracked an eye open and saw an In-N-Out to go bag in his lap. Then he turned his head to see who had brought him the food...and smiled.</p>
<p>There was Detective Julianna Mancinni...and she’d just tossed into his lap a bag of In-N-Out burgers and fries. Grayson grinned as he opened the bag and the wonderful aroma of his favorite fast food burger joint greeted his nostrils. “How did you know?” Julianna smiled...sort of. “I’ve been here before...the food sucks.” She left it at that, and Grayson figured that now wasn’t the time to ask her about what she left unsaid. She sipped her coke as she pulled up a chair to his bedside. Grayson glanced at her. “You want some?” She smirked at him. “Obviously, since there are two orders of everything in there. Not everything is about you.” She jerked the bag from him and pulled out a burger, before carelessly tossing the bag back at him. He caught it and laughed as she ate her burger. “So, Jules, what is this exactly?” She frowned at him. “It’s not a date.” Grayson nodded. “Ok...fair enough, since I haven’t asked you out yet.” She hid her smile well as she sipped her coke. “It’s a thank you.” Grayson got serious then and looked at her. “Thank you? For what?” Julianna grabbed the bag from him and reached into it for her fries. She shoved several of them in her mouth. “You interfered in my case...and solved it, basically. I’ve been after those fuckers for months. Now I don’t have to worry about them anymore. You, and Chen too, took care of them before they could hurt anyone...well, besides you two, and themselves.” Grayson just nodded. “It was mostly Chen. She saved my life.” Julianna smiled at that. “She’s good police. But don’t tell Bradford I said that. He’ll brag about how he trained her...blah blah blah.” Grayson just laughed as he and Julianna chowed down on their burgers and fries. After they had finished, Julianna gathered up the trash and tossed it, before heading towards the door. Grayson called after her. “Hey, Jules?” She turned and looked at him, with her eyebrows raised. Grayson grinned at her. “Now, I am asking you out.” She simply nodded her head. “I’ll see you tomorrow night, 7pm, at your place.” Then she walked out, leaving Grayson grinning.  </p>
<p>Grayson had only stayed in the hospital one night, and had been cleared to keep training for the Hoses. Vs. Badges Marathon after a week. Well, today was the day. First place would win 50k, thanks to an anonymous donor, as usually the first place prize was 25k, second, third, fourth, and fifth places would win 10k, and the bottom five places would each win 5k. All money won would be donated to charity. </p>
<p>Grayson was at the starting line, jumping up and down, getting his heart rate up and his body warm. He heard a familiar voice next to him.  “Loser buys the first round...and by loser, I mean you.” He grinned as he looked next to him into Julianna’s face.  He’d been pleasantly surprised when he’d found out she had also entered the marathon. She’d arranged a surprise for him at the finish line...something she and Lucy had put together for him. Juilanna had vowed to never get involved with another cop again after what had happened to her former partner...she and her partner had been more than partners, and his death had almost destroyed her. But Grayson had wormed his way into her heart, even when she’d tried like hell to shove him away. They weren’t dating exclusively yet, though they might as well have been. Lord knows they had spent enough time together...though they hadn’t had sex...yet.</p>
<p>It had been twenty years since the Badges (police) had beaten the Hoses (firefighters) in this marathon. The marathon would take place through the heart of downtown Los Angeles...several major streets and intersections had been blocked off for it. Grayson hoped that today would be the day the Badges would win. He glanced around at the spectators, but didn’t see Lucy anywhere...which kind of bummed him out. She was without a doubt his best friend, and he’d really wanted her there. Hell, he’d wanted all of them there. He’d really become close with Lucy, Tim, Nyla, John, and Jackson. He didn’t know Angela or Wesley as well, yet, but he liked them from what time he’d spent with them. And he adored their baby boy. Suddenly the marathon announcer took the podium. “Welcome to the twenty fifth annual Badges Vs. Hoses Marathon. I will not fire the pistol until I see that everyone has stopped moving. Good luck ladies and gentlemen! Runners, take your mark!” The announcer raised the pistol over his head, and gave everyone time to get into position. Then he fired and they all took off.  Grayson and Julianna were neck and neck...but Grayson slowly pulled away from her. But as always seemed to be the case, the firefighters quickly gained the lead, and held onto it hard. </p>
<p>Tim, Lucy, Nyla, Jackson, Sterling, John, Grace,  Angela, Wesley, Sgt. Grey, and Monica were all at the finish line. Everyone was holding big signs and banners with messages to Grayson. Lucy squinted...looking for him and the other runners; Tim was too. “I don’t see him yet...but I see several of the firemen already. Looks like another win for the Hoses.” Tim rolled his eyes, as Lucy looked. Suddenly Lucy squealed and pointed, barely able to contain her excitement. “Look! There he is!” Sure enough, here came Grayson, running like the wind, and closing in on the others.</p>
<p>Grayson was smoking all the other Badges….and was quickly gaining on the Hoses. His cheering section began yelling and screaming as did lots of other police officers who were there as they saw him closing the gap and begin to gain on the leader. “Go Wells!” “Bring it home Wells!”  Tim cupped his hands and yelled. “Move it Wells! Put on some speed!” </p>
<p>Grayson couldn’t help but break out into a grin as he saw what had become his family waiting for him at the finish line...and that sent his adrenaline racing even more than it already was. He closed the gap between him and the other Hoses...and soon he was neck and neck with the firefighter leading the Hoses.  Lucy was the only one not yelling and screaming. She smiled at Grayson, but spoke in a soft voice. “Beat him Grayson...c’mon. You can do it.” The shouts and cheers grew louder as Grayson and a firefighter named Brent Fletcher were neck and neck. And then suddenly, in third place, there was Detective Julianna Mancinni. It was the three of them, side by side, as they all sprinted towards the finish line. Lucy then started screaming. “Go Grayson! Go, Go, Go, Go!”  Grayson, Julianna and Brent all put on one last big burst of speed and crossed the finish line at almost the same time. The crowd of spectators was roaring and cheering...but it was too close to call. Seeing Grayson take the lead had sparked the other police officers in the marathon, and they all managed to pull ahead of the firefighters.   The other runners crossed the finished line, and a crowd had gathered around Grayson congratulating him. </p>
<p>After about a fifteen minute wait, the announcer game to the podium at the finish line..and announced the results.  “Ladies and Gentlemen I’m sorry for the delay, but it was a very close race. I’m very happy to announce that this year’s winner in the Hoses Vs. Badges Marathon is...the Badges! With Officer Grayson Wells placing first, Detective Julianna Mancinni placing second, and Senior Firefighter Brent Fletcher placing third.” The crowd exploded with cheers, and began chanting Grayson’s name as the announcer finished announcing the results. Grayson had done it...he’d broken a twenty year tradition of the Hoses winning the marathon.  Only one firefighter had placed in the top ten...all the rest had been police officers.  Lucy went flying over to Grayson. He turned just in time to catch her as she launched herself at him. He hugged her tightly, before setting her back down on her feet. Soon Grayson was surrounded by Tim, Nyla, Jackson, Sterling, John, Grace, Sgt. Grey, Monica, Angela and Wesley. Tim high fived him. “Yeah! Way to bring it home Wells!” Grayson smiled at him as Lucy looked between the two and grinned. </p>
<p>After the excitement had died down a bit, Grayson went up to Julianna. “So... I guess the first round is on you?” He sent her a smug smile that went straight to her heart. She shook her head and laughed. “Look like it.” He nodded but then bent his head into her neck and spoke where only she could hear. “That’s fine...dessert’s on me.” Julianna smiled and shivered in anticpation of what that dessert would be. </p>
<p> The Badges all went out to a bar later that evening to celebrate. Grayson sipped his beer as he looked at Julianna, and the rest of the cops he’d become close friends with. He watched them all smiling and laughing, and teasing each other.  He leaned back and sipped his beer as he felt Julianna tip her head and rest it on his shoulder. And finally, after everything he’d been through, he’d found his way home. </p>
<p>THE END</p>
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